


Three Parts Dead

by GoldenCityBird



Category: Freefall (Webcomic), Star Fox Series
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Bisexual Fox McCloud, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Interspecies Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-12 17:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18451430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenCityBird/pseuds/GoldenCityBird
Summary: Fox wanted Falco to be happy, even if nobody else would understand.Fox wanted Krystal to be happy, and maybe even settle down.Now Fox has a new engineer, and she's going through a rough patch.Can he truly be happy like this? Was he scared of love? Only time would tell.





	1. Chapter 1

Fox woke up, his head aching with the familiar pain of a hangover. Falco was sleeping next to him, and Fox realised they were both naked. He hurried to get his trousers on; he didn’t want to be nude in front of his new engineer if she arrived now, and he didn’t want questions about Falco.

By the time Fox had his shirt on, Falco stirred awake, probably having the same realization of the night before as Fox did before him. ‘Morning,’ he said with a slight slur. ‘Looks like we didn’t trash this place too much.’

Fox looked around; the hotel room they were staying in for the next week was relatively clean compared to his expectations. ‘Yeah,’ he replied, ‘that sure is a relief. But can you get some clothes on first? I’m surprised Krystal hasn’t found out by now.’

There was a knock at the door. Falco retreated into the bathroom with a pair of trousers, and Fox opened the door. He saw a female, light brown-furred wolf, with a darker brown mane and a yellow jumpsuit. ‘Hello,’ she said, ‘I’m Florence Ambrose. You’re McCloud, right?’

‘Yeah, that’s me. So, you’re the engineer that Peppy hired?’

‘Yes, I am. General Hare told me to contact you in case of an emergency.’

‘Already? I’m not sure I like where this is going. Tell me what happened.’

‘There was a theft on one of your ships. The control panel was torn right out. I might be able to replace it, but it’d be quite expensive.’

‘I see,’ said Fox, realising that he might have to pay for a replacement part. ‘Well, if there’s anything I can do, tell me.’

‘I’ll wait until you’re sober. Is there anyone else I can ask?’

‘You can try talking to Peppy about it. If that doesn’t work, then...’ Fox thought for a bit. Slippy was out of action due to a broken arm, Falco was probably as hung over as he was, and he already mentioned Peppy. ‘I guess you can try talking to Krystal about it. She’s on this planet, but she’s got work in another city, so she might not be here for a while.’

‘I’ll consider it,’ said Florence. She walked away from the door, and Fox closed it. Falco came out of the bathroom, fully dressed.

‘I didn’t know Krystal was here,’ he said. ‘Wasn’t she meant to be taking care of Slippy back on the Great Fox?’

‘There was some sort of security breach,’ said Fox. ‘Slippy’s been moved to this planet. That’s also the reason we’re here.’

A telephone on a small table started ringing. Fox picked it up. ‘Hello?’

He heard Krystal’s voice on the other side. ‘Hey, Fox. Slippy’s starting to recover faster now. I might be able to get over to you by this afternoon.’

‘But what about the mobsters you had to take care of?’

‘They’re gone. I managed to get them to agree to a deal, and they should be out of the city now. I can’t wait to see you!’

‘You too, sweetheart!’

The phone hung up. ‘I take it that was Krystal,’ said Falco. ‘Hey, I’m not mad at you. How can I be mad at my boyfriend?’

Fox thought about Krystal. They’ve been together for at least a year, and they had even decided that they’d get married and settle down at some point. But just a few months ago, Falco told Fox about his feelings towards him. Fox felt the same way, and he knew it. But was it worth keeping two relationships going at the same time? Krystal would find out, he knew it, and he was the only person Falco trusted with his secret.

‘Oh, I see,’ said Falco, ‘you’re getting all worried about having two romances at once. Oh well, I’m not too drunk, I’ll be able to check up on the Arwings. See you later, Foxy.’

Falco left through the door. Fox put his jacket on and started following him.

*

Fox and Falco arrived at the shipyard. Their four Arwings looked like they had seen better days. Florence was already under one of them, trying to repair the landing gear. Fox approached her.

Florence noticed Fox coming towards her. ‘I don’t know what’s happened to this landing gear,’ she said. ‘Clearly, it’s been corroded by acid, but then there’s these bite marks alongside round burns.’

‘Some sort of hostile invader,’ said Fox. ‘I should know; I took care of a few of them back on the Great Fox.’

‘The Great Fox? Is that your team’s mothership?’

‘I guess you could say that. Normally, we’d do repairs and medical care there. But it’s totally infested with invaders. We managed to get a few guys up on there; Momota, X-Com, that sort of people. We’re only here for a week.’

‘Sam and I are also here for a week.’

‘Is Sam your co-worker or something?’

‘He’s my main employer. I’m just doing this on the side so we can afford supplies without stealing anything.’

‘Sam sure sounds like a troublemaker.’

‘That’s not even half of it.’

A round, four-legged robot emerged from around a corner, carrying a large box full of pipes. It walked over to Florence, who took a few pipes from the box.

‘These ones will do just fine. Thank you, Helix.’

‘You’re welcome,’ said the robot. It turned to Fox. ‘Hello! My name is Helix. Who are you?’

‘Nice to meet you, Helix,’ said Fox. ‘I’m Fox McCloud. Are you helping Florence fix our ships?’

‘Of course I am!’

‘Do we have to worry about paying you? Peppy only mentioned one engineer being hired, and I’m not sure if we need to pay robots.’

‘I’ll leave that up to you. You’re already paying one AI.’

Fox was taken by surprise. ‘Florence is an AI?’

‘Yes, I am,’ said Florence. ‘I’m a genetically-modified wolf, modified with intelligent AI. I’m not offended by you at all, but it would still be nice to get paid. Helix is just tagging along, as far as I know.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Florence. Different planetary systems, I guess. So, how’s the ship coming along?’

‘Aside from a load of stolen computing hardware, it’s nothing I can’t manage.’

‘Do you think Sam stole them? Should I get authorities to check?’

‘It’s a possibility, but the police want nothing to do with Sam. I should probably check the ship by myself. It should be easy with your specific scent.’

‘Thank you,’ said Fox, going back to Falco. ‘We’re doing alright, apparently. We should be ready for takeoff by the time this week’s over.’

‘Huh,’ Falco said quietly. He had his arms folded, and was leaning against the wall. ‘Well, that’s good.’

Fox sent the same message to Peppy via a text, following it up with ‘Krystal’s coming back as well.’ He went back to the hotel to meet up with Peppy.

*

Fox and Falco met up with Peppy over cups of coffee. They mostly talked about the progress on the ships, Slippy’s healing arm, and Peppy’s time talking with Sam. Eventually, Peppy hit Fox with an unexpected question.

‘So, how’re things going with Krystal?’

Fox thought about it. Did he feel OK with Krystal, or was he scared of her? Was he scared of love now? ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘It’s OK.’ He felt like he was lying, but he kept reminding himself that he was in love with her, and she loved him back. Florence seemed quite interesting – maybe they would talk later, as friends. He looked around; Falco had left the table.

‘Where did Falco go?’ he asked.

‘I made him leave,’ explained Peppy. ‘I wanted to talk about him without him listening.’

‘What’s this about?’

‘He’s been quite quiet and on edge today. Has anything happened at all?’

‘He seemed fine this morning, but after I talked with our new engineer, he’s just gone quiet.’

‘Maybe he thinks you’re in love with her.’

‘I’m not, and he’s not the sort of guy to jump to conclusions like that.’ Fox drained what was left of his coffee. ‘So, where did Falco go, exactly?’

‘I sent him over to the shipyard to check on Florence.’

Fox stood up and went back to the shipyard.

*

Fox found Falco, looking over a catwalk at some of the other ships.

‘Hey,’ said Fox, ‘how are you, Falco?’

Falco stayed quiet.

‘So you’re not in the mood for talking?’

He gave a non-indicative nod.

‘If you’re worried about me and Florence, don’t be. I’m not in love with her.’

Falco turned to Fox. ‘It’s not about that. It’s about Krystal. You’re so lucky to have her, and I want it to stay that way. Sure, you’re great and all, but you’re already taken. Sorry, but I want to break it off.’

‘You’ll need to start telling others, then.’

Falco went quiet again.

Fox sighed. ‘I guess I’ll go and check on the ships.’

He went back to the Arwings. Helix was standing in the middle of the hangar.

‘Hey, Helix,’ said Fox, ‘is Florence here?’

‘I don’t know,’ the robot said. ‘She said she had to leave for something urgent. She went west of here.’

‘Thanks. Oh, and one other thing. Do you have a gender or something like that? I don’t want to get confused or offend someone, that’s all.’

‘I’m male. Or at least that’s what I’m designated as.’

‘That’ll do,’ said Fox, leaving to look for Florence.

*

Fox eventually tracked down Florence at another ship. He was greeted by... something wearing a blue spacesuit and an orange scarf, with a rather simple-looking face.

‘Hello,’ he said, ‘I’m Sam Starfall. Nice to meet you.’ He extended his hand.

‘Fox McCloud,’ said Fox, shaking Sam’s hand. ‘I’ve come looking for Florence. She’s meant to be working on the ship, but it’s just Helix there now.’

‘Right this way.’

Sam led Fox to Florence, who was eating raw meat in the ship’s dining quarters.

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘hi, Fox. What brings you here?’

‘I was going to talk to you about the ship, but I can see that you’re busy right now.’

‘That’s OK,’ she said, ‘there’s not much I can do anyway.’

‘Do you want me to get Helix back?’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Sam, ‘I’ll go get him.’ Sam left the ship.

Fox sat down across from Florence. ‘How are things going on here?’ he asked.

‘It’s... OK,’ she said. ‘Yeah... everything’s fine.’

Fox leaned in. ‘If something’s wrong, you can tell me. I’m good with feelings.’

‘Alright,’ said Florence, ‘if you say so. My boyfriend’s in a coma. There was some sort of accident with cryogenics, and we’ve had to bring him here.’

‘What’s he like?’

‘Well, to start with, he’s smart, he’s used to space travel and living alone, and he’s a nice person.’

‘So he was expected to go on a long journey?’

‘Yes, he was. I can’t quite remember where to, but it was somewhere in the Lylat system.’

Fox smiled. ‘That’s my home system! What a neat little coincidence. Anyway, how are you coping with him being missing?’

‘I’m not sure. We’ve been together for quite a while, so of course it came as a shock. We didn’t really sleep together, so I can’t say I’m missing that aspect, but I need someone I can trust.’

‘I can be there for you if you want. Just give me a call if you need me.’

‘Thank you,’ said Florence, standing up to leave. ‘I’ll see you later.’

She left the ship. Fox thought about her, and how she was coping. He thought of her friendly attitude, but she still seems like a loyal hard worker. Fox thought she was beautiful. And just like that, he started thinking about love.


	2. Chapter 2

Fox returned to the hotel, and locked himself in the bathroom. Was he really thinking about Florence? Sure, she was cute, but that didn’t mean he fancied her. A drop of oil had fallen on Fox’s face as he left the hangar, so he washed it off.

There was a knocking at the door. Fox mustered all of his strength, left the bathroom, and opened the door.

He saw Krystal. ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I hope you don’t mind if I stay here for a bit.’

‘Sure, sure,’ said Fox, ‘come in.’

Krystal came in. Fox closed the door behind him.

‘So,’ said Fox, ‘what did you want to talk about?’

‘I wanted to check on you, see how you were doing.’

‘I’m great.’ Falco crept into his mind.

‘What’s happening with Falco?’ asked Krystal.

Fox had nearly forgotten that she was a telepath. ‘He’s been acting weird. He’s not talking much at all.’

‘I’ll see if I can talk to him.’

‘Thank you. Look, I really need to get going. A load of valuable tech has been stolen from our ships. I might need to find some way to make money.’

Fox stood up and left. As he reached for the door handle, Krystal grabbed his arm.

‘You’re hiding something. I know you are.’

This was one of her tricks, Fox told himself. She did this before, and there was nothing to hide. ‘I’m not. Leave me alone, please.’

‘Why are you sharing a bed with Falco?’

‘How did you find that out?’

‘It doesn’t take a genius to find a feather.’

‘We’re friends! We’re not lovers or anything like that!’

‘I found it on your side. You always take the left side.’

Fox froze. He didn’t want to admit to his romance with Falco, but she was going to find out. ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘Falco’s in love with me.’

‘I don’t want to hear any more,’ said Krystal, opening the door and storming out. Fox watched her leave before closing the door and sitting on the floor. He ruined his chances with Krystal; that much was clear. He didn’t want to waste any more time, and set out to find work.

*

Fox struggled to find work, but he eventually found a few well-paying odd jobs. But all the while Krystal and Falco stayed on his mind. He wanted to reconcile, but he didn’t think he could.

Fox met up with Peppy in the outskirts of the city. He explained the situation to him, omitting the romantic aspect of Falco’s relationship.

‘I see what you’re going through,’ said Peppy. ‘I don’t want it to get in the way of missions, but I don’t think I can help out. This is your beast you have to slay.’

‘Don’t you have any sort of idea about what to do?’ asked Fox.

‘Talking to me isn’t going to help anyone. You have to go out and talk to them yourself.’

‘I don’t know where to find Falco. I know him, but not like this.’

‘You’ll find him.’ Peppy looked over the horizon at the sunset. ‘It’s getting late. There’re only a handful of places guys like Falco end up at this time.’

‘What happens if something goes wrong? This is all out of my field. You know him; maybe you can come with me.’

‘I’m afraid I can’t. I’ve got to overlook today’s repairs on the ship. I’d say Florence or Sam could come with you. They’ve got to get passengers over to Corneria soon, and it’s getting more and more dangerous out there. You could probably get a job from them, too. You know, as a convoy.’

‘Thanks, Peppy,’ said Fox, standing up and leaving. He didn’t want to go with Florence and end up in more trouble, but she at least sounds a bit saner than Sam. He went over to their ship.

*

Fox met with Sam at his ship.

‘Ah, hello again,’ said Sam. ‘What brings you here this time?’

‘It’s for a friend,’ said Fox. ‘A friend of mine, Falco, has gone missing. He’s a blue-feathered falcon around my height.’

‘I think I’ve seen him around the city. What do you want me to do about it?’

‘Do you think you could help me help him? He’s clearly feeling down, and it’s my fault.

‘I’d be more than happy to help. Florence seems like the better sort of person, though. I’ll see if she’s available.’

Sam went into the ship. Fox waited for him for a few minutes. He came out with Florence.

‘Alright,’ said Florence, ‘I’m ready to start looking. He might still carry your scent, so tracking him down may be easy.’

‘That’s nice to hear,’ said Fox. ‘So, Sam, where did you last see him?’

‘Oh, it’s probably not important,’ said Sam. ‘It’s been about an hour; he’s probably nowhere near where he was.’

‘I suppose we should start looking now.’

‘I’ll help you, if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course you can.’

The three of them went looking for Falco.

*

Fox eventually found Falco at a seedy bar deep into the city’s back alleys. The place was full of people, many different species, a lot of whom set their eyes on Fox. He walked up to Falco.

‘We need to talk,’ he said. ‘Alone.’

Falco stubbornly stood up and left. Fox dragged him into the safer-looking building where Sam and Florence were looking.

‘I found him,’ Fox announced. ‘He was at some really shady place. You two can leave, I need to talk in private.’

‘Ok,’ said Sam, leaving with Florence. Fox sat down at an isolated booth. Falco joined him.

‘What do you want?’ asked Falco.

‘Krystal’s found out about us. There’s no way I’m playing it off as just a misunderstanding, so I want you to confront her.’

‘Why should I?’

‘There’s no way I can bring myself to talk to her now. As I said, she knows about our relationship.’

‘So she’s left you?’

‘She hasn’t “left me”. She’s just... angry, I guess.’

Falco smiled. It was hard to tell past his beak, but his eyes certainly lit up. ‘You know what? I think I will. If we communicate, then this whole mess is getting over and done with.’

‘Will you do it if I have to... well, not sleep with you anymore.’

‘Fox, even if we can’t be in love, you’re still my best friend. I’ll do anything for you.’

‘Then let’s get this over and done with.’

Fox left the booth. He stopped. A small glint of orange caught his eye. He turned, expecting to see something. There was an empty window, and nothing else. Fox exited the building.

Florence was waiting for him outside. ‘How did it go?’ she asked.

‘It’s going great. Listen, I need you to find Krystal again, is that OK?’

‘I couldn’t get to her the first time you told me to. I might be able to find her, but I don’t know where to start.’

‘She’ll show up eventually if we keep looking. Let’s start by finding Sam.’

‘Sam’s missing?’ Florence looked around, noticed Sam’s absence, and turned back to Fox. ‘Alright, let’s look for him.’

*

Fox and Florence looked around the city, unable to find Sam for quite a while. After about an hour, they found themselves in a dark alleyway.

‘This is harder than I thought,’ said Fox. ‘Well, he’ll come back soon, I hope.’

‘Do you want to head back?’

Fox turned back down the alleyway, and was stopped dead in his tracks by a large robot with ominous red eyes.

‘Hold it, pilot,’ shouted the robot. ‘This is Turpin territory! Pay up if you want to pass.’

‘What is this?’ Fox yelled back. ‘Of course I won’t pay to some stupid gang!’

The robot picked him up with its claw-like hands. ‘You might want to reconsider.’

‘Don’t you guys have rules? Aren’t you supposed to not hurt people?’

‘Be careful,’ said Florence. ‘I don’t know what motivations they might have, but not all robots work like that.’

The robot threw Fox down, knocking the air out of his lungs. ‘Well, well, look who has brains here. Such a shame you can’t match me in terms of might!’

Florence started backing off. The robot advanced towards her. Fox struggled up, and picked up a nearby metal pole. He delivered a blow to the robot’s head.

The robot turned towards him and reached to pick him up. Fox ducked back, ready to line up another blow.

The robot stopped, its eyes went dim, and its arms went down. Florence emerged from behind him, carrying a battery.

‘Thank you,’ said Fox.

‘You too,’ replied Florence. ‘If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead. That and it’s my fault that we got here.’

‘No, no, the fault’s mine.’

Florence held Fox’s hand. ‘All that matters is that we get out as soon as we can. Chances are this “Turpin” gang is tracking us down.’

Fox and Florence left the inner city, never letting go of each other.

*

Fox went back into his hotel room. Saving Florence made him feel at least a bit happier than before, and he was on his way to getting Krystal back. Thinking back to his journey back, Florence was getting quite close to him, not to mention that she was strangely talkative compared to before. Fox shrugged the thought off; maybe she was that type of person.

His door opened. Fox turned around, seeing Falco. ‘Hey,’ said Fox, ‘what’s happened?’

‘I’ve done it,’ said Falco. ‘I’ve apologised to Krystal. She’s told me to stay away from you, but she’s accepted me.’

‘That’s great news. Look, Falco, there’s something I need to tell you before it gets in the way of anything.’

‘I’m all ears. Go ahead.’

‘I think Florence has a crush on me.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Well, it might just be her personality, but she’s become a lot more open with me after some time together, not to mention we held hands. We were looking for Krystal, before you ask.’

‘I see,’ said Falco. ‘Well, you’re the love expert! Go with your gut, I say.’

Fox chuckled. ‘Thanks, Falco. I’ll do that.’

Falco started to leave. ‘Oh,’ said Fox, ‘one last thing. Where is Krystal?’

‘She’s down in the cafe. I’ll see you later, if I can.’

Falco left. Fox dialled Peppy on the hotel room’s phone.

‘Hello?’ asked Peppy over the phone.

‘Hey, it’s me, Fox. I’ve managed to get a few jobs secured. We should have those control panels back in not time.’

‘That’s great news. So, how’s the thing with Krystal going?’

‘I think we’ll be back together soon. Well, I can’t stick around for long, see you tomorrow.’

‘And you.’

Fox put the phone down, lay down on his bed and went to sleep.


End file.
